RACE IN AMERICA

Will blacks ever stop blaming whites?

Mychal Massie is founder and chairman of the Racial Policy Center (http://racialpolicycenter.org), a conservative think tank that advocates for a colorblind society. He was recognized as the 2008 Conservative Man of the Year by the Conservative Party of Suffolk County, New York. He is a nationally recognized political activist, pundit and columnist. Massie has appeared on cable news and talk-radio programming worldwide. He is also the founder and publisher of The Daily Rant: mychal-massie.com.

Recently, I addressed a person (let’s call him Tim) who had told others that I wasn’t really black because in his mind I do not fit the template of how a black man should behave and, more importantly, how a black man should think. I was able to confront him about his claim when he and I were in attendance at the same event several days ago.

Albeit Tim had no problem casting aspersions about me behind my back, he was far less brave with me standing in front of him. He swore on everything but the graves of his ancestors that he had said no such thing. But that’s not the issue I wish to address. I want to address the abject blindness by this person of color and those like him, who continue to blame George Bush for Obama’s failings. Despite the fact that, based upon all empirical data, blacks are exponentially worse off today under Obama than they were under other presidents, Obama’s skin color trumps his failure as a leader. (See: “Black Americans Are Worse Off Under Obama,” Deroy Murdock, May 16, 2014.)

Obama has treated blacks with disdain, which according to race-mongers is typically shown blacks by conservatives.

It defies logic on any rational level that blacks feel compelled to ignore the obvious and embrace Obama based purely on the color of his skin. President George W. Bush was the devil incarnate to Tim and those like him, but Bush appointed Colin Powell as secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser (and later secretary of state), Rod Paige as education secretary and Alphonso Jackson as secretary of housing and urban development. In all, Bush appointed six blacks to powerful Cabinet positions.

The most conspicuous display of Obama ignoring blacks is that he has appointed no members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to a single Cabinet position; something that has not been lost on the CBC. Members of the CBC have voiced their dissatisfaction, but their complaints have fallen on deaf ears. My outspoken criticism of the CBC’s political positions notwithstanding, are blacks to believe that of the 43 members comprising the CBC, not one of them is as qualified as the whites Obama has surrounded himself with? If I were as focused on race as Tim and other blacks, that would speak volumes to me. Obama has publicly ridiculed members of the CBC when they have dared raise their voices about being passed over by the Obama White House.

When Obama was elected, many blacks were delirious with anticipation of finally having someone who by their definition would understand their needs. The only time Obama has shown specific concern for blacks has been when it is of benefit to him. And yet blacks blindly continue to support him.

Blacks believed Obama would be their black Moses, leading them out of their metaphorical Egypt into the land of milk and honey. Many blacks openly made it known that they expected Obama to provide them with housing, cars, televisions, jobs and so on. But nearly six years into his term, Obama still hasn’t found it within himself to appoint a single member of the CBC, nor has he appointed any other qualified black person to his Cabinet. And even more confounding, he invoked the blessings of God upon Planned Parenthood for the “good work” they do. This, despite the fact that because of the so-called good work Planned Parenthood does there are over 25 percent fewer blacks since 1973.

Bush hasn’t been president for nearly two terms, and still blacks continue to blame him for the failings of Obama. It is sad to say, but blacks are more forgiving of Obama than they are the clerk at the corner store. There comes a time when it is necessary to face the truth that Obama is not their Moses; he isn’t going to lead them into a land of special favor and dispensation; nor are his policies going to be of any substantive benefit to them.

Tim says all complaints against Obama’s policies coming from white people are because they hate him due to his skin color. He looked upon my contempt for Obama’s policies as being the result of my not having grown up like other blacks. When I pointed out that it was white people who were responsible for Obama being elected, he dismissed that fact. When I pointed out that Obama’s policies have hurt blacks, his comeback was that it was because of the Republicans.

At what point do blacks stop blaming whites, and specifically white Republicans, for the failures of Obama?

I questioned how blacks must feel as Obama’s wife continues to publicly condemn and malign those who are overweight. I asked him how he thought black children felt about having a black woman mocking and condemning their mothers as being fat and a drain on America’s health system. He had no answer.

I can understand loyalty to family and friends, but even that has limits when it comes to the well-being of my own family. If my child or family member were acting in a way that was detrimental to their health and/or the health and well-being of themselves, their family, or their community, I would not tolerate it. But sadly, many blacks willingly dismiss all sense of right, wrong and sinfulness to defend Obama simply because of the color of his skin.